Carolyn

I want to start keeping tabs on myself regarding progress on my story (ok stories) I am working on, so figure the only way to do that, is to actually do that. LOL.

1. Altered Fates - part one of my epic fantasy - current word count is just over 100k. The outline is about 15k, and at this rate this first book is going to be 400k... a wee bit long, yes? LOL. I don't care - this is my 'for me' book that I really am enjoying sinking back into, the one I've had around in different forms for around 15 years. Who knows what I will do with it in the end but it makes me very happy to think about these characters again. :) The outline is just in Word right now which is difficult to work with so I'm going to start plugging it into Scrivener tomorrow. I realized though as I read through the outline again that my other story (2. below) weaves into it in several important ways, and now I am wondering if I shouldn't weave the two together, removing some of the silly stuff that one writes out of this... Going to consider that, and ponder that further.

2. Song of the Siren - the one that dovetails into the above. Hmmm. The more I think about this, the more I like the idea... Hmmmm... Ponder. Only 6,173 words written so far in this one. Hmmmm....

3. Wayward, my poor dear science fiction story. At 41,292 and complete for now, it is a wretched wordcount, but I do have it figured out how to get the story bumped up into a better wordcount. Science fiction aka the science fiction world continues to freak me out but is freaking me out less with all the good that is coming out of the bad. There are some great people out there determined to make changes, and that is a good thing. I love this genre, have been an avid fan since I was a kid (thanks Dad) but the genre itself has always been such a turnoff because of well, many things. Lots of things. Things I never experienced in the mystery genre, but my heart just isn't in writing mystery. But this story... I love it so much and it WILL get out there eventually.

4. Stage - my first person story I refuse to talk about anywhere because I am guarding it so fiercely - currently going back through my massive dissertation I bought on the particular subject at the root of this story. I finally realized what was wrong with my plot - things happened TO my character. That was it. He did nothing, was just along for the ride! No wonder I just went meh. This one is heavily influenced by my love for Jacqueline Carey's work, will be in first person, and wicked, and has been in my head not as long as 1. above, but about 6 years or so. It needs to live.


Tomorrow the plan is to watch a movie with Nick and Klaudia (we are making our way through all the Oscar nominations and tomorrow is my turn to choose so I am choosing Captain Phillips) then I will walk Maddox for a good hour, then dash to the store and then go hide out in Starbucks, maybe, or somewhere. I need a table to spread out on, and a comfortable chair. Starbucks has new chairs and I question whether they will be comfy - am disappointed they redid the store and took out my favorite bench seating. Will be seeing the son later on...just spent 926 bucks to get his car fixed. SIGH. Not exactly the birthday present he envisioned (and the one he envisioned would've been much cheaper for me! LOL).

Otherwise, that's it - was sick last weekend and Monday and it is gorgeous this weekend, so very much looking forward to the next two days.

Current read: finishing up (I read so slowly) a trilogy written by Stephanie Dray about Cleopatra's daughter, Selene, pretty much set in Rome. I love it. It is supposedly historical fiction but to me it reads historical fantasy because hello, magic, and lots of it. But I love the author's voice (first person) and love stories set in this time period, and am impressed with many things about the storyline and characters... so much so may have to tap thoughts down later. Then I have a friend's book to read next, also about Rome, I am looking very much forward to. :)

Also, I keep thinking of things - will start another Whole 30 next Saturday - my sister and her daughter are coming for a brief visit and well, you know, gotta look good! Plus I just loved doing it before and I have found myself slipping into laziness and eating processed foods again and way too much bread bread beautiful bread how I love you bread... which always makes me feel like crap. LOL. So yeah, a week from tomorrow, whee! Can't wait!

And that is all from me.

I didn't want to bore the few reading this with 'so this is what I ate today!' as that is, well, boring, so I skipped a couple of days.
( a heck of a lot of rambling in here )
Seventh day here, and I have to say this has been the easiest of weeks of dieting. Except it isn't dieting. I have had to deal with headaches, which I rarely, rarely get, but that just tells me that yes there is SOMETHING I am consuming that I needed to get out of my system. Given I am still drinking coffee and tea, it is not caffeine. But I have found several teas that are delicious plain - Constant Comment and Ginger Peach - and am content. After 7 days without sweeteners, I realize I don't miss them. How about that.

Other things I have not had this week - dairy, grains, flours, sugar, sweeteners of any kind, processed foods - everything I have eaten has had one ingredient and grew and lived one way or the other. That sounds a bit barbaric but when I did eat meats or fish I bought the best quality I could, free range, grass fed, hormone-free.

This hasn't been hard at all. I tossed everything out last week and have been eating like this ever since. There has not been one hour or one moment where I have struggled, been hungry, craved anything other than sweet potato but I can eat that so no big deal. There is a lot of variety, I have found www.nomnompaleo.com to have the best, easiest and most delicious recipes.

So other than headaches, what else have I noticed?

I feel lighter. My stomach is flatter. My rings are loose. My tastebuds are waking up and simple flavors taste amazing. I've learned to make ghee and other things I never thought of before. I find myself pulling my shoulders back and stretching a lot, because my tummy feels light if that makes sense. As the days have gone on I'm finding myself satisfied more easily, finding it easier to just stop eating when I am done. The dogs have liked getting the tidbits! :)

Also - foot pain has decreased with each day. I haven't had any stabbity pain since Tuesday. There was an hour two today as I was walking around at work (very busy day) that the odd sensation of burning under-toe returned (seriously, the pad of my big toe BURNS) but then it went away.

I've walked the dogs 4 out of the 7 days. Today I got home too late, another day it was too warm. Tomorrow morning I plan to get up, throw the hair into a ponytail, toss on some clothes and take Maddox to our favorite park. It is still too warm for us to try out his new backpack but that is coming! So I have to carry a water bottle for him. He'll need it. (Also! Lots of geocaches in this park - I have found 49, and am determined to reach 55 at least by the end of the day tomorrow!)

Sleep is good too - the last few mornings I have woken up well before the alarm. This is good. Very good.

So all in all, I am very very pleased with the first week of Whole 30. I've had some emotional roller-coaster, this is true and can't be denied, and I am not sure why but the sads hit really hard a few times this week. Little things made me feel sad and neglected and full of woe, just very alone. My daughter and son though--what would I do without them? I'd text Kelly or talk to Tiff awhile and the crushing feeling would lift for awhile.

Work, happily, has been awesome, and my boss and I talk a lot more about random things inbetween the work, which is nice. Been talking about biking, geocaching, hiking, food, adventures, crazy clients (we have plenty) and other lawyers, lol. He and Desiree know I have cut out all the stuff (though Desiree knows exactly what I am doing and is all chuffed about it). Not sure why the leap but I do love it, love the feeling of TEAAAMMM and working for someone who respects me and who I can respect. That is a very good thing.

Oh and have I lost weight? I have no idea! I hid my scale from myself. This isn't about weight loss necessarily, but I know it is happening. I hope at the end of the month I will have broken through that ridiculous plateau barrier I've been on for years. Srsly! For two years I have been almost exactly the same weight. Nice for the wardrobe to be consistent, but I wish it were ten pounds less, and then be consistent!

I am rewatching Supernatural. Am watching X Factor with sheswatching (oh my STARS! SCREAM! it is agonizing! Love it! ha ha), and just trying to stay busy, in a routine. That I am still working on!

Going to see my son tomorrow, and load up on local produce that he has so easily available where he lives, for next week's menu. :)

WHEE!

I want to sell my mountain bike and get a proper ten speed.

On to the next week of Whole 30, yup yup yup!

Getting occasional text messages from a friend who is San Antonio for Worldcon. The latest one got me to perk up - 2015 is in Spokane! I am SO IN!!!

Several weeks ago - before vacation actually so a couple months ago (wow, it is September! August FLEW by!) I creatively created a desk out of an old door and two low shelving units. The idea was to have a desk in my living room behind the loveseat where I would actually sit and work. Well the reality is it was too high, the chair too low, it served as a handy ironing board and a place to fold clothes. All well and good but not what I was intending at all.

So yesterday I went first to look for a tall chair at Staples and failing that, decided to go to Office Depot. Well first thing I saw when I went back to the furniture section were these cute lads staring at me...



Well, I finally have all their names straight now! Cutest thing though - on the other side of this display there was a lifesize poster and a little girl was posing 'with' 1D and I couldn't help but get a kick out of that.

Then I saw this little desk just sitting there right in front of the giant poster and decided oh what the heck, I'll just tear down my makeshift desk and get this thing. So I did and now it is spread out on my floor waiting for me to put it together.



Think it will work perfectly for what I need. And it rolls around! That is my favorite feature, I think. Surely having a decent desk to sit at in my living area will help with productivity. Surely....

EXCITING POST ISN'T THIS.

I think I will curl up on the couch and take a short nap, then will tackle putting it together. Yeah, sounds like a plan.

:)

I liked this meme so thought why not? Come on, lay your choices on me!
( questionsquestionsquestionseeek )

Today was, finally, my last day at Snark, the lawfirm I've been working at since about March. Sadly, very very sadly, the end result was not a permanent position there, but me back in the world of unemployment. I leave Snark with a heck of a good reputation, with much regret on their part and mine, and with much-polished skills as well as three of the attorneys I helped out vowing to tell whoever I need them to how awesome I am. The last one to do so was one of the senior partners, who expressed true regret about the situation. And, one of my regular non-bosses and I had a talk this afternoon about the situation, and he is not crossing out hope that the situation will change. Honestly? If I did find a job, unless it was really really terrific, and he called to come work for him, and work at Snark, I would go. I've never worked so well with an attorney bfeore. Sigh.

Anyway, as everywhere, it is a financial consideration - the lawfirm isn't a big one, and when clients can't pay the bills, well... so, goodbye (for now) Snark, so glad I spent all the time there that I did.

So now what, C? Back on unemployment, which I still have plenty of. I am determined, very determined, to approach what could be a couple of months or so of none-earning with cheer and determination. The holiday season is coming after all. Festive time of the year! But also a terrible time to be job-hunting.

I must, therefore, have a gameplan for staying sane, i.e, A Gameplan for Staying Sane. And this is it:

1. NANO TIME!!!! Since I am home, I have two goals for Nano:

a. Finish the rewrite of my next loose-id book by the end of the month
b. Get as much of a rough rough super-rough draft of Aquamancer done by the end of the month

I am lucky to have a great group in the DFW area, and one of my crit parties is a ML, so I know she will crack the whip to attend things. The kickoff is Sunday afternoon, in Dallas. I have been told I will go. LOL. :)

2. SCHOOL!!! Continue to kick-ass in class - I have an A, made an A+ on my mid-term paper. WHEE!

3. THE HOUSE!!! Start working on the ^%$# garage, start throwing away All The Crappy Things there and inside. Considering five years ago this house was practically bare, we sure have accumulated a lot of crap. We do not crap need.

4. THE DOGS!!!! Walk them daily. The long hot summer is over, and they deserve the extra attention

5. JOB HUNT!!!! Adopt a gameplan for the job search. Now that my legal experience is polished and sparkly again, redo the resume, updated Linked-In, and research all the law firms in Fort Worth, as well as corporate legal departments.

Think those five things should keep me too busy to be depressed. I hope so anyway.

Other things!

1. Maddox killed a possum the other day. The last time he tangled with one, it won, and he ended up on antibiotics. This one was a small one and no damage done to him this time. Thank goodness.

2. Reading - got my hands on some wonderful books about Shakespearean players. :)

3. Television - been on a House kick.

4. Cooking - I have some tempeh - I am eyeballing it sideways. Just not sure about it... LOL.

( and then there is that meme going round )

I just hit SEND!

Now to hopefully not have to do further edits on the beast. LOL. More details later as I get them but man, this story put me through the ringer. I needed that though. Really did.

AND YAY new LJ header! No more so-called healing light. Poppies are PRETTY! PINK RULES!

Love to all! And tomorrow, I'm diving into my Merlin big bang and having some FUN! Woot!

LindaLee--this is an occasion I wish I had your Kermit user pic. LOL. :)

Today, you have been odd.

Had no sleep last night--sent Nick a phonepic of my clock at 1:15 a.m. with a whiny message but that wasn't the last time I looked at the clock. Then, suddenly my alarm went off--I am trying to stay with a 7:30 a.m. up-time regardless of what I do--so up I got. Then daughter comes to me crying--her BFF#4 (lotsa BFF's has she) lost his mother this morning after a ten year battle with illness. It was expected, but they are very close, hope to be roommates eventually, and all this brings back lots of hard memories for Tiff of when her dad died. But Troy needs her and she's been with him all day.

I accomplished nothing today other than dealing with that (lotsa hugs). Read over two fics I had beta'd, happy to see them both wrapped up, and watched lots of Supernatural (episodes of which seemed to have become like my comfort blanket--I barely pay attention, really, but the boys do a good job keeping me company), sorted shoes (daughter has a HUGE basketful, and they were all right at the door, geesh), and played with the dogs.

At least later today was more productive! Made a post on my pro blog (feels very weird to post things there), wrote a bunch of junk re: my fantasy magic system, and...

THIS POST IS BORING, RIGHT? I KNOW!!!!!!

I wanted to work on my Merlin Big Bang, but I just now opened it for the first time today. It needs work work work and I am in the mood of 'man, what is the point?' re: writing it for that purpose. I would rather beta, honestly--I love beta'ing my writers. They need to hurry up and write more so I can beta more, right?

I am also determinedly trying not to think of my phone hearing on Monday. Oh yes, didn't I mention? Bastards at my former place of employment are trying to fight my unemployment. I am not afraid, definitely not of that bastard (who my lovely writing group promises to kill off in their fics--love them) but very, very annoyed. I don't want to deal with this, but will, because I am right and they are wrong. Bastards.

Happily, I got my ESOP money finally, so at least there is plenty in the bank. What would make me even happier? To hear from Loose-Id would make me REALLY happy. Really really really really.

In fantasy news, things are marching along, though in an unexpected manner--one of my characters became something that I didn't expect, which is leading me to create a whole culture I hadn't expected to. Also, it seems there will be water dragons...kinda cool, that. I hope to start writing on this soon. Ready or not, I need to get going.


I wish I was going to England...

I am a horrible housekeeper. Seriously. I have all this time on my hands, and by now every corner of my house and yard and garage should be Suzy Homemaker perfect. But it isn't, and I neglect the hell out of it, until I can't stand it any more. So today I armed myself with all the cleaning equipment I could find, and bought new spray stuff that smells fabulous, and attacked!

Hours later, the house smells great (the red velvet soy candle I bought sure helps plus it is very pretty and reminds me of blue_fjords's cupcakes of awesome.) The floors are clean, walls scrubbed, bathtub and sinks shiny, kitchen clean, I can even walk through my hallway! No laundry baskets! We'll see how long this lasts. Two days maybe.

I managed yesterday to get all my stuff re: defensive driving turned in (though I had to fax a paper to the municipal court that dipstick here forgot at home) so that is all good, got my ESOP paperwork today so THAT is AWESOME, and the glow from winning unemployment has not diminished. Now all I need to do is do my taxes. Bah. Friday.

LOL I just realized that my 'state of me' format I was going to use was forgotten. Oh well.

Been working on my plot for my fantasy...attacking the worldbuilding, antagonist next. The method for plotting and planning is a little different than I've done before (the method we're following on my Saturday morning writing workshops), and I'm finding it really very helpful. Way helpful. For the first time, my 10-year's worth of jumbled notes and thoughts and characters and plot are starting to iron out. They are actually making sense! There may be hope for me yet. LOL. Next post--will write about that. I promised a couple of people I would yack about Writer's Journey, which ties into what I am doing with my Saturday group. Oh, and that Saturday group is after me to start blogging. Like real blogging? Like 'building your brand!' blogging. *headdesk* Given there are two of me, this is going to be a pain...

I wish I had more exciting stuff to write here, but alas, I can't think of anything!

Anyone watch Smallville? I'm on the sixth one. It is pretty fun (so many exploding things! so many deaths! so much weirdness!), is pretty entertaining though Lux baby confused me at first. Lex, I mean. LOL. I am intrigued by his characterization, as he starts out as a relatively good guy.

I need to go somewhere, so badly. ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!!! On a PLANE!!!!!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, maybe tomorrow will be an exciting day?